Constitution
From Roach Busters
TITLE I
Fundamental Statements
Article 1. The Republic of _____ is irrevocably and forever free and independent from any domination or protection by a foreign power.
Article 2. It shall never be the patrimony of any person or of any family.
Article 3. The government of the Republic of _____ is and always shall be democratic, representative, responsible, and alternating.
Article 4. Political power resides in the people, who exercise it directly through election, initiative, and referendum, and indirectly through their representatives in the government of the State.
Article 5. No person or assembly of persons has authority to arrogate the title or representation of the people, to usurp its rights, or to make demands in its name. Violation of this precept constitutes a crime.
Article 6. The government of the Republic is exercised by the legislative branch, the executive branch, the judicial branch, and the electoral branch.
Article 7. In the organization of the powers and institutions of the State, the principle of minority representation is established.
Article 8. The branches of the government shall function harmoniously in accomplishing the aims of the State. In the exercise of their particular functions, they are limited and independent.
Article 9. No magistracy, or person, or assembly of persons, not even under the pretext of extraordinary circumstances, is empowered to assume any other authority or rights than those that have been expressly conferred upon them by the laws. Every act in contravention of this article is void.
Article 10. Spanish is the national and official language of the State.
Article 11. The State has no official religion.
Article 12. The city of _____ is the capital of the Republic and the permanent seat of the branches of the government.
Article 13. This Constitution is the supreme law of the Nation. The treaties, conventions, and other international agreements ratified and exchanged, and the laws, make up the national positive law, in the order of precedence in which they are listed.
Article 14. The Republic recognizes the principles of international law; it condemns wars of aggression or of conquest and any form of colonialism or imperialism; it accepts the pacific settlement of international disputes by juridical means; and it proclaims its respect for human rights and the sovereignty of peoples. It hopes to live in peace with all nations and to maintain friendly cultural and trade relations with them on the basis of juridical equality, of nonintervention in internal affairs, and of the self-determination of peoples. The Republic may become a party to international multilateral systems of development, cooperation, and security.
Article 15. Navigation on the international rivers is free to ships of all flags. It shall also be free on internal rivers, subject to any regulations issued by the competent authority.
Article 16. The principles, guarantees, rights, and obligations established in this Constitution may not be altered by the laws that regulate their exercise. Any law, decree, regulation, or other act of authority that is contrary to its provisions is null and void.
TITLE II
The Territory and Political Divisions
Article 17. The national territory is that which belonged to the Viceroyalty of _____ before the political transformation initiated in 1820, with the modifications resulting from treaties validly concluded by the Republic. It also includes with the same status the adjacent islands, keys, headlands, banks, the submerged lands, the territorial sea and the continental shelf, as well as the air space, the stratosphere, and the entire undersea area of its sovereign domain according to international law.
Article 18. The national territory is indivisible, inalienable, and imprescriptible. It may never be ceded, transferred, or leased or alienated in any way, even partially or temporarily, to a foreign power.
Foreign States may acquire, within a specified area, under guarantee of reciprocity and with limitations established by law, only real property that is necessary for the seat of their diplomatic and consular representation. The acquisition of real property by international organizations may be authorized only in accordance with conditions and restrictions established by law. In al these cases sovereignty over the land is retained.
Departmental Administration
Article 19. The national territory is divided into Departments for purposes of organizing the political and administrative structure of the Republic. The law shall also establish the manner in which judicial and administrative decentralization is to take place.
Article 20. The law may merge existing Departments, change their boundaries, create new Departments, and authorize compensation or cession of territories among bordering developments, taking into account the physical and demographic characteristics, the means of communication, and the most desirable policy based on economic, social, cultural, and national defense considerations.
Article 21. The political administration of each Department shall be exercised by a Prefect who shall be advised, as determined by law, by a Departmental Council of which he shall be the President.
The Prefects shall be appointed by the President of the Republic. The qualifications of Prefects shall be determined by law.
Article 22. The Departmental Councils shall hold their meetings in the capitals of the respective Departments.
Article 23. The law shall fix the number of members of each Departmental Council, who shall be elected by direct and secret suffrage, giving representation to minorities, with a tendency to proportionality. The Councils shall be renewed every four years. Their members may not be reelected.
Article 24. To be a member of a Departmental Council it is necessary to have the same qualifications as for being a Deputy and, in addition, to have resided in the Department for more than one year.
Article 25. Ordinances or resolutions that a Departmental Council may pass shall be executed by the Prefect.
Article 26. The functions and powers of the Departmental Councils shall be determined by law.
TITLE III
Nationality
Aliens
Citizenship
TITLE IV
Rights, Duties and Guarantees
Rights, Duties and Guarantees
TITLE V
The Legislative Power
The Legislative Power
TITLE VI
The Executive Power
The Executive Power
TITLE VII
The Judicial Power
The Judicial Power
TITLE VIII
The Electoral Power
The Electoral Power
TITLE IX
The Office of the Attorney General
TITLE X
Public Finance
Public Finance
TITLE XI
Public Officials and Employees
TITLE XII
The Armed Forces
TITLE XIII
Indian Communities
TITLE XIV
Agrarian Reform
TITLE XV
Amendment of the Constitution
TITLE XVI
Final and Transitory Provisions
